A Mystery Solved
by TheSkandranon
Summary: Shizuku came to Cremona Italy to be with Seiji, but also found something else that has been missing for a long time.


Shizuku walked down the streets of Cremona, Italy smiling. She would walk the cobbled sidewalks most every morning since she moved from Japan to be with her luthier boyfriend. He was almost ready to be a full-fledged violin crafter and add his name beside the names of Maggini, Stradivari, and Amati; hopefully anyways.

For now he was still taking lessons and she was still writing. Shizuku was very glad she had come, not only for Seiji, but because Cremona was an old city that offered a lot of inspiration for her. She had seen things that sparked her imagination and created wonderful stories that she knew she wouldn't have been able to come up with in Japan.

She was on one of those walks now, hoping to find something to inspire her when she saw a large black cat wander by. It was so alike in bulk of another cat that she had seen before that she automatically started following it. She kinda laughed at herself, thinking that no way there was going to be another adventure for herself this time. Once was enough, yet she still followed it. Maybe, even if she wasn't led on another adventure, she would discover something new about the foreign city she was in.

The merry chase she was led onto this time wasn't as long as the last one, but it certainly had more twists and turns that she actually got lost. So with not much of another option she continued to follow the cat.

It stopped outside a little café that had an outdoor sitting area and jumped on one of the chairs of an unoccupied table. She was starting to get a little hungry so she thought the cat had a very good idea. She sat on the other chair of the table with the cat and soon a waiter came out and gave her a menu. She ordered a Pear and Gorgonzola Salad with shrimp and some coffee. She had recently become a big fan of Italian coffee and ordered it whenever she could.

While she was waiting for her food she pulled out her pencil and pad of paper that she always carried with her just in case an idea came to her unexpectedly. She looked at what she had written before and thought, trying to continue where she left off.

Her meal came and she started eating as she thought and wrote. She parted with a couple shrimp to the black cat that she shared her table with, which it accepted with a loud purr. This cat seemed to have a very different personality than Moon did.

After she finished her meal, she was going to try and find her way back to an area of Cremona that she knew when she looked at the logo of the café on the receipt. It was the of the head of a female cat with a small hat that was decorated with two different types of feathers and some lilies behind her head.

She was exactly how Seiji's grandfather, Shiro Nishi, had described the baroness, the companion to his cat figurine Baron Humbert von Gikkingen.

She looked up and saw the same waiter that had served her on his way back inside, "Excuse me, do you know what the inspiration for the logo of this café is?"

He looked at her a little surprised that she would be interested, "Why yes, it's the head of a cat figurine that the mistress keeps on the bar inside. Would you like to see it?"

"Yes, that would be wonderful, thank you."

He led her inside and to the center bar where they take the customer's orders and there she was. It looked exactly like she had imagined the baroness to be. White fur with a purple hat, a frilly high necked dress with flounces that weren't quite pink, and yet not quite red, she was also holding a bouquet of lilies in her human hands.

The waiter spoke again, a little fondly, "Mistress Louise just loves that figurine. She wouldn't sell it for any price."

Shizuku stared at the baroness a little longer and smiled warmly, "Yes, I can see why. Thank you."

With that, she left the café hurriedly to make a long distance call to Japan.

XxXxXxXxX

About a week later, Shizuku was at the café again, along with Seiji, and his grandfather who had flown into Cremona the day before.

Shiro Nishi was very nervous; he hadn't seen Louise in so long it almost seemed like another life. He kept halting a little lowering his hands a little that were occupied by a small bouquet of flowers and a little extra something. He would look like he was about to turn and walk away, but then would start walking again, following after Shizuku.

"It'll be alright Mr. Nishi, she obviously still treasures the Baroness, so she must remember you."

"I'm sure she found someone else, I'm wasting my time."

"Grandpa, even if she has, it's good for you two to see each other again. Even if it's just as friends."

Seiji's words seemed to reassure the old man for the last two blocks to the café but he still paused outside a little beyond the outdoor tables and seemed a frozen to the spot staring at the café 's sign.

Shizuku smiled and decided he needed just a little more help and slid her arm in his and guided him towards the café. When they were inside she recognized the same waiter she had talked to last week.

"Excuse me," she called to him, "is there any way we could speak to the owner of the café?"

He looked a little surprised, but replied. "Sure, can I tell her what it regards?"

"A personal matter."

The waiter walked behind the counter, set down the platter he was carrying and disappeared through a door that Shizuku decided must be the office.

A few seconds later he came back out of the same doorway closely followed by an old woman. The waiter pointed at their group and she looked at them.

Mr. Nishi just seemed to gape at her really, and Shizuku couldn't blame him really. Even as an old lady she cut a good figure, the years had been good to her. Even though her face was lined with age, she didn't let that stop her from spreading her lips in a wide friendly grin. Her hair was white and curly framing her head with blue eyes that still sparkled.

As Louise walked toward them her pale yellow dress swayed around her, her movements showing she still had plenty of mobility and life within her.

"Hello, what can I do for you."

"Louise," Mr, Nishi gasped a little breathlessly.

She turned to him a little perplexed, but still with a smile, "Yes?"

Instead of answering her, he pulled out what he was hiding behind the bouquet of seven Pink Striped Trumpet Lilies, (the same number of the same lilies that the Baroness held) and pulled out the statue of Baron Humbert von Gikkingen.

Louise gasped a little and stared at the statue then slowly looked up into Mr. Nishi's bearded face, "Shiro?"

"Louise," he said again, but this time with the joy of knowing that she remembered him.

It was her turn to gasp a little, but it was mixed with a laugh and her eyes tinged with tears as she stepped up to him and rested her hand against his cheek. Mr. Nishi's eyes were already leaking tears as he wrapped his arms around her torso and she returned the embrace up and around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry Louise," he whispered. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come back to you."

"It wasn't your fault Shiro, the war made everything almost impossible for everyone." She pulled back still smiling with her eyes glistening. "Let's go to my office and we can talk, alright." She gently took Mr. Nishi's hand and started following her without a glance to the young couple that was smiling at the old couple.

"Well," said Seiji, a little amused, "I don't think they'll need us for a while.

Shizuku giggled lightly, "No, I don't think they do."

She smiled up at him and then turned and walked out the café.

Seiji joined her out on the cobbled street and rested his arm around her shoulders.

"That was a good thing you did."

"How could I do anything else? I owe a lot to your grandfather."

She smiled up at him as he returned the smile then leaned down and kissed her.

* * *

**A/N: FINALLY! I've been wanting to do this one for a long time, and also been trying to write it for a long time too. Some of it imspiration left me, and some of it had to do with working for 13-14 hours 7 days a week for almost two months. Anyways, hope you all enjoyed this little fluff from one of my absolute favorite anime movies Whisper of the Heart.**


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